Baghdad bombings targeting Shiites kill at least 19

Attacks targeting Shiites in Baghdad, including a suicide bombing at a funeral in a mosque, killed at least 19 people Friday, security and medical officials said.

The suicide bombing inside the Al-Ashara al-Mubashareen mosque in the Amil area of south Baghdad killed at least 17 people and wounded 33, the officials said.

Two officials said the funeral was for a member of the volunteer paramilitary forces known as the Popular Mobilisation units.

In the Sadr City area of north Baghdad, two roadside bombs exploded near another Shiite place of worship, killing at least two people and wounding  nine.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suicide bombings are a tactic used exclusively by Sunni extremists in Iraq, including the Islamic State group, which consider Shiites to be heretics.

The Popular Mobilisation units, dominated by Iranian-backed Shiite militias, are some of the most effective forces in the battle against IS, which overran large parts of the country last year.
Source: AFP